First Stop: Guanajuato

Pick a Color

Guanajuato (pronounced whanna-wat-oh) is a place of color.  Colorful houses crowd and cling to the steep sides of the high hills enclosing the colonial city. Everywhere you look the buildings are brightly painted in happy shades of lime green, sizzling red, royal blue, emerald green, hot pink, soothing turquoise, and golden yellow. 

Walking through the cacophony of colors, through the streets of the centro zone, is truly an experience. But what makes the city so unique is that Guanajuato is a town in a bowl, surrounded by mountains. To reach the town, you must drive through myriad subterranean tunnels that wind and intersect through the mountains surrounding the city.

The Tunnels

The first of the tunnels was built in the early 19th century to protect from August flooding from the Rio Guanajuato, but the tunnels now serve as the only access to town (a dam was later built to control flooding).

The drivers go at lightning speed, whipping through the narrow and dark tunnels. Thankfully the tunnels are one-way. Even so, there are no stop signs or traffic signals, with plenty of intersections and “V’s”, so it’s a bit of a wild ride. It’s best to just cross your fingers and hold on tight and hope that your driver is experienced. 

The City

Once you’re in though, you’re in. As you walk, the quaintness of the cobblestone, pedestrian-only streets, sets the mood of pure charm. Ficus trees, which only grow indoors back in Seattle, are everywhere in town. They grow two stories tall and are meticulously pruned into enormous cubes or smooth rounded structures. Never did I see a leaf out of place.

Guanajuato was founded in 1554 and given city status in 1741. Along with several towns in the region, Guanajuato became one of the greatest silver-mining centers of the 16th century.  The buildings are all old, very old. The streets and alleys bend and twist. The buildings are rarely over 2-3 stories high. There’s definitely that unique character that goes along with a very old town. 

It’s built like many cities that have finite space, buildings packed in, walls touching, and no nook or cranny wasted. All is quiet in the early to mid-morning, but it takes no time at all for the true Guanajuato to show itself.

Busy, Busy

And now it’s time to enjoy this very bustling town. An old, colonial and majestic cathedral on every block, each ringing their bells in their respective towers incessantly (it seems).

The ringing of church bells is loud, early, and often, but definitely lends to the charm of the place. Next we see a wide and long, imposing staircase leading to the main university building, that dates back to 1732. The university provides a young energy throughout the city. 

We continue our stroll and walk by street performers belting out a Santana song or a clarinet piping out a melancholic tune. There are multiple rooftop bars blasting music and beckoning all to join the party, in contrast to many small, family run restaurants with three or four tables inside and two out on the patio, welcoming patrons to a quiet, casual meal.

Gluten-Free AND Vegan, WTF

As a gluten-free (GF) eater by necessity, and vegan eater by choice, I’m a tough food customer.  My priority when traveling is maintaining GF to avoid illness.  I compromise the vegan part and try to stick to vegetarian (adding in dairy & eggs) to make life more manageable while traveling, but am thrilled when a restaurant actually offers vegan choices.

I’ve found plenty of vegetarian choices here in Guanajuato, mostly sticking to cheese-laden dishes.  I fear for my gut health, but I will admit it’s kind of fun to eat cheese again….at least so far. 

Jardin de la Union

Moving further into the heart of the old city, into the Jardin de la Union, we can see the crowds of people thickening. The square, which is actually a triangle, is outlined by the customary ficus trees, this time pruned into a huge perimeter tree-hedge. It’s spectacular.

Almost everywhere we look are local and traveling Mexicans. We see very few English-speaking travelers, like ourselves. Mexican families with strollers and toddlers, old and young couples, groups of friends, and the ever present old fashioned Troubadours selling tickets for a nightly stroll.

The Troubadours

The Troubadours range from university students to seniors.  They stand out in the crowd, wearing velvet knickers and impossibly ruffled bright white shirts, and typically carry a flute, guitar or drum. They take paying guests on a wild stroll through the winding streets of Guanajuato every evening.

The performance is equal parts music, comedy, and tragedy. Unfortunately they only perform in Spanish, so us English-only speaking Gringos would miss out on a solid portion of the show. 

We did see a Troubadour led-group one evening up a small alley from us while we were walking home from dinner. The large group was stopped, crowded around their leader (Troubadour) and looked like they were having a grand old time.

Does Anyone Ever Sleep?

Speaking of having a good time, Steve and I arrived in Guanajuato after midnight on a Wednesday night (actually Thursday morning). We were a bit tentative getting dropped off where the automobile zone ends and the pedestrian zone starts, in the middle of the night in a new city. Blocks from our apartment, navigating in the dark through narrow streets and alleys, in what we thought would be quiet and isolated streets, was a bit intimidating.

The carnival atmosphere we encountered was unexpected. Couples and small groups were out walking, partying, and enjoying themselves, even though it was getting close to 1am on a non-descript Wednesday night. 

Turns out people aren’t up until around 1 am every day of the week, but more like 4 am every day of the week.  Guanajuato is a good place to remember your ear plugs, if you won’t be keeping those same late night hours.  If you’re in the centro zone, like we were, it’s almost impossible to not hear the loud talking and general festivities very late into the night.

With all the activity and density in the city, you’d think the streets might be full of litter, but you’d be wrong. The streets are immaculate, except some occasional doggy deposits in early mornings, which are quickly picked up.

The Cheesecake Lady

As I mentioned earlier, the town starts waking up mid morning, which makes sense with the generally late night hours.  Locals begin to dot the streets, selling all kinds of handiwork, sun hats, and various wares.

A young woman carrying a basket, looking a bit like Little Red Riding Hood, who we now know as Anna, sells individual slices of her family’s homemade “healthy” cheesecake in the Jardin de la Union every evening. Less sugar AND gluten-free, how could I resist?

Of course I felt it was my duty to support their family business, so I bought a cheesecake slice on the way home from dinner a couple of times. 

In a town where you’re hard`-pressed to find anyone who speaks more than a word or two of English, it was a bit of a surprise to encounter Anna, who seemed to have perfect English and a vast vocabulary. 

As we departed after buying our first piece of cheesecake, she yelled out “Have a good one!”.  Steve and I just looked at each other in shock.  Wow, impressive. 

About the fourth time we encountered Anna, cruising the Jardin de la Union, her sales area, we learned she had lived in Oklahoma and Houston for 11 years of her life.  Well, that was unexpected. 

The Plazas

A few long blocks down from the Jardin de la Union, we walk along the high spirited main street and turn up a small cobblestone alley. We are then unexpectedly transported into a shady and calm place, one of the many plazas easily found throughout the city. 

It’s one of the many things I love about Guanajuato. Every block or two you’ll find beautiful plazas with dark green wrought iron benches tucked among the chaos, perfect to take a load off for a few minutes, or to people watch. Some are intimate, others are sprawling and impressive.  

Guacamole and a Beer

Walking into our favorite plaza, Plaza San Fernando, is like taking a deep breath, then slowly letting it out. It’s like an oasis in the desert, you’re relieved to enter and can’t wait to just relax.

The sun dapples through the tree cover providing plenty of shade from the warm sun. There’s a soft trickling of the fountain that anchors the plaza with outdoor cafes and bars all around the perimeter, each with their own unique ambiance, and plenty of seating.

The cobblestone courtyard, the gardens and fountain, the colorful two-story buildings with wrought iron balconies that surround, all add to the beauty. It’s the perfect place for some guacamole and a beer.

WINS

Such a happy place to be.  Just a good feeling walking the streets. 

Exploring all the tiny, family-run restaurants.  The hole in the wall places are always the best and are our favorites.  Plus, I will admit, I love the challenge of paying less and still getting a wonderful meal. 

The weather.  So nice to leave highs in the 40’s and 50’s to enter a place with highs in the 80’s.  Consistently sunny and warm.

Dogs everywhere. Like in the kid’s classic book, “Go Dog Go“, it was a real “Dog Party“. Big dogs, little dogs, medium dogs, and dogs so small we would just stare.

The Hacienda San Gabriel de Barrera.  So glad we decided to travel the 15 minutes outta town to see the old Hacienda with it’s splendid gardens.  What a treat.

The Covid-19 vigilance is superb. All indoor buildings require masks. The majority of people even wear masks when walking down an uncrowded street or sitting in the plaza. Many businesses ask you to use sanitizer upon entry, and some take your temperature. Public places ask for social distancing.

LOSSES

Finally getting to the “Vegan Guanajuato Restaurant” for a wonderful lunch of soy meat tacos.  Deliciosa! …..then feeling queasy around 4 pm, followed by a trying bout of violent food poisoning for the next 20 hours.  Honestly, I can’t be sure it was the Vegan place, but I wouldn’t rule it out.  

The night noise was hard.  Very loud and very late.  My earplugs helped, but it’s definitely something to contend with here in Guanajuato.

The many unexpected, strangely spaced stairs to our apartment were tough on my bad knees. Then lots of steep, narrow, and winding stairs within the house to finally reach the apartment. Even more winding stairs to reach the rooftop deck, which I admit was an optional climb, but oh that view!! And did I mention that we are at 6,600 feet here in Guanajuato? At least I’m getting in a good workout for the rest of the trip. :0